calligraphy
Americannoun
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fancy penmanship, especially highly decorative handwriting, as with a great many flourishes.
She appreciated the calligraphy of the 18th century.
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handwriting; penmanship.
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the art of writing beautifully.
He studied calligraphy when he was a young man.
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a script, usually cursive, although sometimes angular, produced chiefly by brush, especially Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic writing of high aesthetic value.
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Fine Arts. line or a group of lines either derived from or resembling letter forms and characterized by qualities usually associated with cursive writing, especially that produced with a brush or pen.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of calligraphy
First recorded in 1605–15, calligraphy is from the Greek word kalligraphía beautiful writing. See calli-, -graphy
Explanation
Ever see a framed diploma in your doctor's office filled with fancy old fashioned curvy handwriting announcing they trained at such and such a university? Well, that style of writing is calligraphy, and it's mostly used for important public documents. The word calligraphy comes from two Greek words stuck together, kallos, meaning "beauty," and graphein, meaning "to write" — literally "beautiful writing." In the days before printing was invented, all books and documents were written by hand using calligraphy, the most famous examples being the bibles written by medieval monks.
Vocabulary lists containing calligraphy
Write On!: Graph and Gram
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East Asia - Middle School
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East Asia - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gifted with every upsell in Hyundai’s ample larder, our Calligraphy AWD tester carried 364 pounds of extra luxury around its midsection, compared to the FWD model.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026
Calligraphy, a centuries-old art form, is seeing a surge of interest, including among young people more familiar with coding than cursive.
From New York Times • May 29, 2024
He saw a post on Facebook from VipArtni Calligraphy Studio, and decided to dive in, paying about $99 for 10 signatures from which to choose.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2023
“And I got more and more involved, and now it’s one of my favorite things,” said Podesta, who plans to attend this year’s International Calligraphy Conference in California.
From Washington Times • Apr. 20, 2015
"Calligraphy is a skill I have always wanted to acquire."
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
